The infamous Ron Clark house system is sweeping across the country in schools! It really is the complete package for PBIS, incentives, school culture and behavior management all wrapped up in a package.
So where do you start? I suggest building capacity with one grade level. This helped us figure out what works and what doesn’t. We focused on 6 houses and named them after our 6 school vision pillars : Believe, Engage, Succeed, Teamwork, Integrity, Equity…BESTIE! From there, we were able to scale school-wide to 1,000+ kids and staff!
Step 1: Prework
First, decide the house names, colors, and leaders. Then try to make an acronym and motto that’s catchy! Creating a committee was key! We mapped out a basic roll out plan with dates, goals, material needs and fundraising ideas. Or you can copy the system that is ready-made by the Ron Clark Academy House System app. We used the PBIS app instead.
Step 2: Teacher Planning Week
All staff, from cafeteria to principal, were sorted into a house. We immediately separated into houses for a mini pep rally to welcome new staff inducted to the house. We had a brainstorming time where each team claimed a song, cheer, symbol, chant, and activity to teach students the meaning of the house.
Step 3: Student Sorting
Within classrooms across the school week one, each student was sorted using a variety of sorting fun to be placed into a house color. Ideas include- blind pick color from a hat, pop a black balloon filled with a house color confetti, spin a digital wheel, or spin the school house wheel. After that, all students all got a necklace in their house color and celebrated with their new house family. We created a schoolwide spreadsheet in excel with tabs on the bottom to record staff houses and each grade level the students sorted in each house to keep track schoolwide. The goal is to try to make each house as equitable as possible. If a new student came the teacher would place them in the house with the lowest count, same with staff. The Ron Clark App will sort the students if you use their house names. However, since we didn’t, we sorted as mentioned above.
Step 4: Culture
In the long run, infusing the house system into our school’s daily culture is the biggest tackle! Building capacity with teachers, staff, parents, and students. We started by sending a parent letter home explaining this Ron Clark House System and a chance to purchase a house shirt. Students were encouraged to make posters, cheers, chants, and dances to represent their house. Students earned points based on house characteristics they showed in behavior. We held staff house house events like decorating gingerbread houses, staff snowman costume contest, and house breakfast mixers to encourage integration across the school.
Step 5: Behavior System
The (Ron Clark) house system and PBIS are married at our school! On the contrary, we dont use the Ron Clark House system app, we purchased the PBIS app for point tracking. This funnels into schoolwide house points. Each quarter we announce a house winner of points. At the end of the year, we announce the winner overall and have a house trophy/ party for just those students.
Besides the app and points, our system incorporated physical tickets staff can give out called “bow Wows” that work towards points too. We collect and count these each quarter to add to the overall point total. Also there is a special “golden bow wow”- this is a big deal because only one can be given out and it gives students an extra wheel spin for MEGA points that no one else can get! For this reason, they are key to our program!
Step 6: Monthly House Meetings
Another organizational tool I recommend is to make a calendar of all house meeting dates. This day is when students and staff dress to the MAX in their house colors and get together for a pep rally. We slowly rolled out the program as follows: quarter 1 was in class house meetings. Students met in groups to complete cheers, chants, and activities to learn what their house means deeply. Quarter 2 we opened it up to grade level house meetings where they met in specific teachers’ classrooms from the grade level who were the leaders of each house. Finally, towards the end of Q3/4 we did it school wide where every house met in a designated location and students in that house from Prek-5th all gathered with support staff in that house to lead the house meetings.
Step 7: Classroom Infusions
- field trips- split students into house groups with a chaperone
- need groups quickly in PE or ART- get into your house groups
- table points for classroom management in class- sort and sit students by houses,
- student of the month awards- choose the student who embodies that house pillar (choose a student in August showing belief, September the focus is which student is engaged the most…etc).
- We allow students to earn sitting in their houses at lunch by grade level.
Step 8: House Needs
Through the shirt fundraiser we built a good amount of money to fund the program. Some of the things we purchased:
- PBIS APP
- Trophy
- House color decorations
- house flags
- treats for each quarter winner for prizes like ice cream
- a party for end of the year winner which was a foam party
- materials for monthly house meetings
- A giant spinning house wheel
- House shirts
Fun ways to keep houses alive:
- Random challenges such as the house that has the most spirit will win 1,000 points
- The house that brings in the most canned goods for the food drive wins 5000 points. As students bring in their cans, they are sorted by houses to determine a winner.
- A fundraising dance where they come dressed up in their house.
- When important visitors come to visit our school for the day, we sort them and initiate them into a house. They wear house colors and get greeted by students around campus all day long as they recognize their house. The possibilities are endless!
